Try To Stop Me
by KickPrevails
Summary: When you die, you become a walker, bitten or not, unless your brain is destroyed. Everyone knows that. What everyone doesn't know, however, is that there is an upside to this disease. This upside may be the only thing to stop the apocalypse, and save the lives of those who have passed...
1. Missed

When you die, you become a walker, bitten or not, unless you're shot in the head. Everyone knows that. What everyone doesn't know, however, is that there is an upside to this disease.

Powers. Everyone has them. Not all of the survivors know it, but they have them. You see, to protect your living brain from the disease, your brain produces a counteraction. This creates some sort of power that only you have.

And it only takes a certain kind of near death experience to find that out.

Beth Greene's incredible power only acted out after she was shot.

The bullet had gone through her head, yes, but not through her brain. A green shield had put itself between her bullet and her brain. The shield carried the bullet through the shield instead of the brain, causing no damage to occur to it. Still, her head was bleeding badly, due to the bullet passing through it.

Nobody knew about this power; everyone thought she was dead.

Even if she saved herself from the bullet entirely ending her system, she wouldn't be able to live unless her head was patched up with the help of others.

What was this power, exactly? It was a protection power. She could protect herself and anyone from a near-death experience. Had she known of this power before, she probably could have saved many of her friends and family. Somehow, she is just one of the many living people who don't know about their powers.

Hopefully, they will find out eventually, because that could be the only way to stop the apocalypse once and for all.

"BETH! NO!" Maggie was on her knees, sobbing. Glenn held her shoulders in a comforting way, but he was also despaired.

Daryl was crying as well. He couldn't even look at the pale girl's face. She had changed his life and he couldn't even look at her. He hated himself for it. He dropped to his knees and pressed Beth's limp body to his own.

Rick was pacing around, wiping his eyes. He gave a loud sniff and said in a low, yet demanding voice, "We need to go. We need to go, now. We need to go."

"NO!" Maggie screamed. "Not now… not yet…"

Daryl was sobbing into Beth's shoulder. He could have done more.

Maggie finally had the strength to run over to them. She tried to take Beth's body from his grasp, but he wouldn't let go.

Eventually, he laid her body down gently, rubbing his eyes. Maggie shook her head and hugged Daryl. He returned the love, as the pair sobbed in unison.

.x.x.x.

The fire truck was large, but almost not large enough to fit Beth's body in. Eugene earned a slap in the face from Maggie when he suggested leaving her behind.

Daryl and Maggie sat in the back area of the truck. Beth was spread between their laps.

"I can't stop lookin' at her…" Maggie said. "She's just so beautiful…"

Daryl didn't respond, but also continued to stare at her limp body.

"I think we should patch her up," Maggie said, gesturing towards Beth's head.

"Yeah," Daryl grunted. He stood up and exited the back area, retrieving a wrap from Carol's bag. He returned to the area and shut the slide door.

He handed the wrap to Maggie.

"I can't," she said. "You do it."

Daryl sighed and sat Beth up. Her white face gleamed in the sun's light from outside. Daryl looked down for a moment, then proceeded to wrap the bandages around her dainty head.

"There," Maggie sniffed. "I feel a lot more comfortable lookin' at her without a big hole in her head."

Daryl grunted again.

"I love my Bethy…" Maggie said. "Ev'n if we were only half-sisters, she'd still drag me into so much trouble. She'd always say 'Maggie, can we go outside and play?' ev'n when she was fifteen."

Maggie looked up at the ceiling of the truck. Daryl listened to every word, giving her his full attention, but continued to stare at Beth's beautiful face.

"One time, Shawn and I were hangin' out in the kitchen. She ran in with her innocent look, said, 'Maggie, Shawn, I wanna make somethin' for you. Help me make you a meal!' We didn't have much eggs at the time, 'cause we didn't have many chickens either. But we worked with what we had. Ended up bein' me and Shawn covered in egg yolk and Bethy sayin' that she made us a meal." Maggie chuckled. Daryl did slightly, too.

"You didn't tell me much when we were in the train cart, only that you were with her and she was taken. What happened when y'all left the prison?" Maggie asked.

Daryl heaved a sigh, but continued to stare at Beth's face.

"Found 'er wanderin' around the prison area. Said she was lookin' for the kids to get them to the bus. I told 'er we had to go, and we did. Those next few nights, we just wandered around. She begged me to come with her to look for you guys, but I'd lost hope. She didn'. Then one day, she said she wanted a drink. Showed her my dad's cabin, full of moonshine. I guess I must've drank too much, because I was yellin' and grabbin' and forcin' her, somethin' I'd never do now. She calmed me down, even though I had hurt her and scared her. She brought me back. You should'a seen her, she was the happiest drunk ya ever would'a come across," Daryl chuckled. Maggie smiled and looked down at Beth yet again.

"We talked awhile. Ended up me tellin' her about my life before shit broke the fence. She told me how she missed Hershel, missed you. We left the cabin awhile later." Daryl decided not to bring up him and Beth burning the cabin, or her "last man standing, you're going to miss me" comment.

"We wound up at a funeral home, but Beth'd got her foot caught in a trap. It'd twisted her ankle all around. I carried her to the house, and we ended up stayin' there. We talked and laughed and sung… she brought me happiness and comfort that I had never really felt. Few days passed and walkers invaded the place. I fought my way out, but she got taken. She left her bag behind and I chased the car for hours. Got stuck at a crossroad…" he trailed off.

"Wow," Maggie said.

Daryl huffed and finally pulled his gaze from Beth, looking up at the ceiling.

"I'm not the same man I was, and it's all thanks to her. What I'd give for justa 'nother moment…"

Maggie looked up from Beth to Daryl.

"Did you love her?" she asked.

"… I don't know..." Daryl said. "But I think so."

Maggie nodded and smiled again.

"She'll do that to ya. I don't know who wouldn't love Bethy."

.x.x.x.

Carl was sitting in the mid area of the truck with Glenn, Michonne, and Judith.

"I can't see her like that," Carl said. "I'm glad Daryl has her right now."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Heh, I remember when I had met her, I had a huge crush on her," Carl said. "She was just so pretty and sweet, an amazing singer and good with kids. Even if I was only thirteen, any age of guy would easily fall for a girl like that."

"I miss her songs," Michonne said. "A few times I caught her singing songs about rebellion and loneliness, things like that to little Judith over here. She said she sung what she liked to because the baby couldn't understand her anyway."

Judith giggled and bounced up and down.

"I definitely miss her. I remember the first time we had a full-on conversation. She came up to me one day and said she approved of Maggie and I. She said no guy had ever made Maggie feel this happy before. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't heard that. Beth helped me understand how I felt about Maggie," Glenn sighed with a dazed smile.

"She helped me. She changed the way I looked at things. And I never thanked her…" Michonne said.

.x.x.x.

"Poor Maggie…" Rosita said. "From all I've heard about Beth, I really wanted to meet her."

"You definitely would have. I remember when we lived at a place together. Almost everyone had fallen ill, but she hadn't. She was supposed to be taking care of the baby at the time, so she couldn't offer much help to taking care of people. She still helped me a lot," Sasha said. This got not only Rosita's, but Tyreese's attention.

"She'd always come by, tell me how I looked better every day. Say everything would be better soon. She was right, and that's part of what kept me going."

"I had only seen her once before this," Tara joined in.

"The attack at the prison. It wasn't the governor killing Hershel that made me stop fighting and realize I was fighting for the wrong side. It was her. She was hanging over the fence, sobbing. My heart had broken. We had been the cause of someone she loved's death. I was the nastiest person alive for being the cause of a little girl like that crying so hard.." she trailed off.

"Even though we lived together for a while, I didn't talk to her much. She did do one thing I remember really well, though," Tyreese said. "After Karen and David's deaths, I was broken, I was crazy. But she sat down with me one day, said she wanted to sing to me. She sung to me like I always sung to Karen, and it brought me back to sanity."

"Beth, she's changed a lot of lives," Rick popped in. "It's so hard to see her be killed knowing that she was one of our sources of hope and happiness."

"I wish I could have met her properly," Tara said. "She seems like a great person."

"She really is," Sasha said. "I'd probably be a lot different if I hadn't met her."

"Me too. Even though she only did a small act of kindness for me, it changed me and the way I was acting a lot," Tyreese said.

.x.x.x.

"Hey, Beth," Maggie said to her limp body. Daryl had gone into another area where he could be alone for a while.

"Everyone here misses you. Even people who never knew you miss you. You've changed all of our lives, Bethy, and I could never repay you."

Maggie sighed and tucked a piece of Beth's hair behind her ear.

"Bethy, I'm just pretendin' you're still alive right now. I just can't accept that you left. I hope you're listenin' to me from up there."

Tears began spilling out of Maggie's eyes, as she hugged Beth's body.

"I miss you, Bethy, I miss you… I don't know what to do…"

.x.x.x.

After Maggie had finally the feeling in her to return to the group, or at least Glenn, Daryl returned to the room where Beth's body still rested.

Beth was laid on a bench, and Daryl stood on his knees on the ground next to her. He grabbed her hand. It was so cold, but so familiar. He loved the feeling of her soft hands.

"Hey, Beth," Daryl said. He didn't even care that he was talking to a dead body, he just sat and continued to converse.

"You remember when you were askin' me what had made me a better person an' all?" he grew a smile for the first time in a long time.

"It was you. You're the whole reason, Beth. You've changed everyone's lives. You've changed mine. I wish there was something, anything I could do to repay you."

Daryl looked at her pale face again.

"You're so beautiful. You have a beautiful personality and a beautiful heart. Beth, I don't know what I should do now… findin' you was all that kept me goin'."

There was an eerie silence as tears began to well in Daryl's eyes.

"…Daryl..?" Beth moaned.


	2. Nice To See You Again

Daryl must have seemed like the craziest man alive.

"Y-you spoke," Daryl said, letting go of her hand and falling to his bottom on the floor.

Beth's eyes opened for the first time in a while. The sunlight on her dazzling blue iris reminded Daryl of the crystal-like color of her eyes when she was happy. Her eyes would light up.

"Hey…" Beth said, smiling. Though she was still lying down, her eyes followed his every move.

"How..?" Daryl replied.

Beth's nostrils flared slightly, but she was still utterly happy.

"I saw green, and then I passed out. That's all I remember," she said.

Daryl looked at the ground, confused, overjoyed, and wondering if he was dreaming.

"…Did you miss me?" Beth asked. Daryl smiled and stood on his knees again, scooting back over to the bench where she lay.

"I missed you _so bad_," he replied.

She smiled and turned her head to look at the ceiling.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"A truck," Daryl said. "Abraham's driving it."

Beth's brows furrowed in confusion as she turned her head to face Daryl again. "Who's Abraham?"

"We picked up some new people while you were gone. We've been through hell."

Beth opened her hand and stretched it out to Daryl weakly. He took it in his own, holding it tightly.

"Tell me everythin' that happened," Beth said, not in a demanding tone but a sweet, interested one.

So Daryl did. He told her about how he chased her and how another group picked him up. He brought up how they wanted to kill Rick, but they killed them first. He told her about Terminus, the cannibals (which earned an "Oh my god" from Beth), and their escape. He talked about Abraham, Eugene, Rosita and Tara, and how they found Father Gabriel and moved to his church. He told her about Bob's death, losing Carol and finding Noah.

"…And then we all got to the hospital somehow, but I only paid attention to finding you," Daryl finished.

"Wow," Beth said. "So who all's here right now?"

"Well," Daryl started. "We got me, Rick, Carl 'n Little Ass Kicker…"

Beth giggled at the nickname that Daryl had been reusing for Judith for a long time now.

"Also, there's Carol, Noah, Tyreese, Sasha, Michonne, Glenn, the people you haven't met named Abraham, Rosita, Eugene, Tara and Gabriel, and, Maggie."

Beth's smile faded instantly and her eyes widened.

"Maggie, Maggie's here? Can I see her?" Beth said quickly.

"Yeah, o'course," Daryl said. "I'll go get 'er."

Daryl stood up and began walking out.

"Wait," Beth said.

Daryl abruptly turned in the doorway to face her. Her eyes, still as sparkly and big as ever, connected with his, as she said, "Thank you."

"Mmh," Daryl grunted with a nod. He turned and left the room.

He began walking towards the front of the truck. He sped up slightly, and before he knew it, he was at a run. Maggie, who was snuggled up against Glenn, noticed Daryl and broke free of Glenn's grasp.

"Maggie, you're gonna wanna see this," Daryl said. "C'mon."

Daryl began speeding back to Beth and Maggie followed. Maggie stopped at the doorway to see a bright-eyed Beth smiling at her.

"Oh, Bethy," Maggie said, holding her hands against her heart.

"Daddy always told me I was a fighter," Beth said weakly.

Maggie's bottom lip quivered and she fell to her knees, leaning over Beth's body.

"I love you so much," Maggie said. "Please don't leave me again."

"I'm not plannin' on it," Beth said.

"C-can you sit up?" Maggie said, tears running down her face.

"Yeah," Beth said, pushing herself up. Maggie trapped her upright half in a warm embrace.

Daryl stood leaning against the doorway, arms folded. Beth looked up from Maggie's back, and smiled at him.

He smiled back.

**Sorry for the short chapter! The next one will definitely be longer and more interesting. Wasn't this reunion sweet, though?**

**Anyways, thank you very much to anyone who's been Favoriting or Following this story! I appreciate any reviews also. Thank you!**


	3. Settling In, Then Out Again

**Before I start, I want to give a HUMONGOUS thank you to DarylDixon'sLover for being my biggest supporter, ever since my first Bethyl story. Thank you!**

**Also, just know that this is going to be a VERY eventful chapter.**

After a couple of days, Beth was up and walking again. She had reunited with her family, and had met the newest additions of the group, which she bonded with quickly.

"Dammit," Abraham groaned.

"What's wrong?" Tara asked.

"Truck's outta fuel. We're gonna have to look for somethin' to load it up."

One by one, the group fell out of the truck. Beth, still one of the last people in the truck, was slipping on her boots. Daryl was saying something to Carol near the door. He then hopped out of the truck and held both of her hands to get her down.

Beth's stomach turned at this. She didn't like seeing other people hold Daryl's hands, especially Carol with their history, but she didn't know why. She shook it off and continued to struggle into her boots.

"Hey," Beth heard. She looked up from where she was sitting to see a heavily armed Daryl.

"Hi," she said, looking back down to her feet, hiding the smile that had just crept onto her face.

"I was wonderin' if you wanted ta walk around together," Daryl said. "You're still recoverin' and all, and I wanted to lend a hand."

She smiled up at them.

"Okay," she said.

Beth stood up and slipped her knife into her belt, and a pistol into her pocket. She suddenly realized something was missing, and a worried look creeped onto her face.

"What'sa matter?" Daryl asked.

"My bag… had my mom's necklace, my pen, my diary..." Beth said.

"Hey," Daryl placed a hand on her shoulder. "When we get some fuel for the truck, I'm sure we could go back to the funeral home to get it. Don't worry about it."

Beth nodded and led Daryl to the truck's exit.

"Need help gettin' down?" he asked, hopping off of the truck's ledge to the ground.

"Yeah, actually, that'd be nice," Beth said, stretching out her hands for Daryl to take them like he did Carol's.

Instead, Daryl turned his back towards Beth.

"Hop on," he said.

Beth smiled and slowly did so. She leaned her head onto his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled at the warmness of her body and walked her to the barren buildings where the rest of the group had gone.

The group was huddled together in a circle. When Beth and Daryl joined them, almost everybody in the group eyed them. Beth avoided any eye contact with her face still being buried in Daryl's shoulder, but Daryl was able to see everybody's face. He caught Maggie's smile the quickest.

"Alright, so here's how it's going to go. Abraham, Eugene, Rosita, there's a shop two blocks from here," Rick said, looking at a map pinned to a nearby pole. "You three, please scope the area and check the store for any supplies."

"Okay," Rosita nodded.

"Maggie, Glenn, Tara. There's an old bakery near the shop that Abraham and them are going to. I want you to check it out."

"Roger that," Tara said with a smile.

"Tyreese, Sasha, take Carol with you to the nearest gas station, about a quarter of a mile down. She's still getting back on her feet so I want you two to protect her."

"I'm fine," Carol said.

"Then they'll need you to carry back supplies," Rick said, patting Carol's shoulder.

"Daryl, you go with Gabriel and Michonne–"

"I'm goin' with Beth," Daryl said.

Rick stared at him for a few moments, then nodded.

"Alright, Carl, you and I will go with Michonne and Gabriel to most of the shops on this block. Anyone who finishes early can help us. Which leaves Daryl, Beth, and Noah to check out the large building in between the bakery and the gas station. We ready?"

"Wait," Carl said. "What about Judith? Shouldn't she stay at the truck?"

"I'll watch her," Michonne volunteered. "Rick, you and your son along with Gabriel are perfectly capable of raiding a place without me. I'm sure I'll be able to handle a baby just fine.

"Okay, then, it's settled. Everyone knows what they're doing? Let's head out."

.x.x.x.

"I don' think I can carry you much longer," said Daryl.

"Alright, I'll be fine walkin'," said Beth.

Beth, Daryl, and Noah made their way to the large building marked on the map. Once they got there, they saw it was a hardware and construction store.

"Woah, this place is huge," Beth said once they had stepped inside. Her echoed voice bounced against the walls.

"I've never been to a hardware store before, so this is awesome," Noah said.

"Me neither," Beth said. He flashed a smile at her, and she responded warmly.

Daryl stared at the pair and grumbled. He liked the kid and all, but Daryl didn't know how close he had gotten with Beth at the hospital. An image of Beth riding on Noah's back instead of his came into his mind, but he swatted it away abruptly.

"C'mon, let's look around," Daryl said.

The trio snuck around the store, and after fifteen minutes of checking all aisles of both floors, they regarded the store clear and ready to be raided.

Noah searched downstairs, while Beth and Daryl searched upstairs. They each scouted separate parts of their areas, building up any useful supplies they found.

Beth was leaning over a shelf that had fallen and was trying to pick it up. It seemed like all of the weight was lifted when she felt another person lift it up.

"Thanks, Dar–" Beth started, but was unable to finish when her mouth was grabbed with one hand, waist grabbed with another.

The man who had helped her lift the shelf eyed Beth up and down. He then smirked.

The man had short, spiky hair with chocolate brown eyes. He was probably about 5'11. He wore a dark leather jacket with brown cargo pants and black boots.

Beth was unable to tell the person whose hands were holding her back's appearance, but her attention was focused elsewhere. The other man was nearing uncomfortably close to her.

"Hey, girl," the man said. "How 'bout you listen here. You're going to do what we ask you to and stay quiet, or else you and your friends in here ain't gonna get outta here alive. Alright?"

Beth nodded to the best of her ability. The other man's arms tightened around her body. She felt trapped and violated and was trying to think of a way out of this. Stabbing Dawn almost got her killed; stabbing one of these men would get her killed almost indefinitely. Plus, she was outnumbered, and these men could most likely tackle her if they needed to, unlike Dawn who wasn't much bigger than Beth.

"Alright, girl, listen up now," the man said. "See that room behind you? You 'n me are gonna go into that room and you're gonna do everything I say in there. Okay?"

Beth nodded nervously.

"Oh, Harry, get her weapons while you're at it. Girl, don't even say you got none, I see that knife in your belt loop."

The man who was holding Beth let go of her mouth and took the knife from her belt. He then abruptly opened the door and shoved her into the room.

Quickly, before the other man could make his way in, Beth took her small pistol from her pocket and slipped it into her boot.

"But Mason, what do I do if someone from her group sees me here?" Beth heard the two men talking from outside the door.

"Make sure they don't," the man named Mason replied.

After a few seconds, Mason entered the room.

"Hey girl," Mason said.

Beth quaked in fear and unknowingness of what to do. She saw there was also a knife in the man's belt loop and a large black gun in his hand. She wouldn't be able to get out her gun in time without being shot or stabbed first.

"I have a name," Beth replied.

"So you're a sassy one," the man said. "Normally I'd be totally into girls like you, but right now, I'm not in the mood."

Mason pushed Beth to the thankfully carpeted ground. He kneeled over her body.

"Haven't met a girl with a body like yours in years," he said. He forcefully ripped her sweater off, and then struggled the yellow polo she was wearing over her head.

All Beth was doing was thinking. She couldn't think of a way to escape, she couldn't even open her eyes that were squeezed shut. She just prayed to God that this man would stop.

Her prayers were answered right when the man laid a hand on her chest.

The door of the room swung open. The man called Harry was running into the room, but he fell suddenly. An arrow pierced his skull as Daryl and Noah ran into the room. Both pairs of eyes softened at the sight of Beth, but angered again at the man over her.

The man stood up, but Beth still laid there, hands covering her eyes.

"Don't come near me," Mason said. He stood up and pointed his gun at Beth, where her heart was. "Don't point that thing at me, or she'll die."

Daryl and Noah stood their ground.

"Lower your weapons or the girl dies."

Noah turned to Daryl and shook his head. Daryl turned back to him and nodded. He was formulating some sort of plan, but it all would have to do with what Mason would do next. Slowly, Noah and Daryl put their weapons to the ground.

Mason walked over slowly and kicked the weapons aside.

"Heh, idiots," he chuckled, and shot Beth in the chest.

"NO!" Daryl yelled, running for his weapon across the room.

Beth looked down at her chest as the now green bullet rebounded and fell out the way it came in. She stood and took the pistol from her boot.

"What, how…" Mason started.

She then, with no second thoughts, shot Mason in the head.

"Beth," Daryl said, running over to her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just losin' some blood right now," Beth said. Daryl stared at her in awe.

"How?" he said.

"That was your heart," Noah agreed.

"I don't know," Beth responded. "But I'm fine. I'd be even better if we could get this bullet hole patched up."

Tears filled Daryl's eyes and he nodded, grabbing a towel that he had found in another room and tying it around her waist. He suddenly hugged her. Noah smirked.

"I'll be right back, I left something… out there…" he said.

Beth smiled and wrapped her arms around Daryl's back.

"I almost lost ya once, then again. I think God's givin' me all these chances because I keep makin' the same mistake of leaving you alone." Daryl pulled away but still kept his arms wrapped around her. "But I'm never gonna do that again. Beth, I never want to lose you. I want to spend my life seein' you every day. So please, stay with me."

Beth's eyes were raining now. The traumatic experience plus the love Daryl was showing her only made her want to cry, and that's what she did. Nevertheless, she nodded, smiled, and pressed her head against his chest in another hug.


	4. The Guilty Loneliness of It All

"Guys, I can walk, you know," Beth said.

"Too bad," Noah replied.

Beth was being carried by Daryl and Noah. Noah held her head and arms, and Daryl held her legs. Both men held bags of supplies around their arms, but were able to carefully lure Beth's body back as well.

"Seriously, I must be way too heavy–"

"You got shot in the head. You got shot in the chest. Stop," Daryl said, bouncing her lower half up to get a better grip.

"Aren't you in pain?" Noah asked.

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean I should put you guys through pain too…" Beth said, her voice softening as she spoke.

"'Ay," Daryl snapped. Beth looked up at him in alarm.

"Let's get somethin' inta yer head. You're important, you're not dead weight, so _stop_."

Beth looked away from him and closed her eyes. "I'm not that important. I'm just someone people take advantage of to get done what they can't do themselves."

"Why would ya think that?" Daryl said.

"…You don't know what happened at the hospital, what they did to me. Noah, you don't know the half of it either." Beth squeezed her eyes tighter and shivered.

Daryl sadly glanced over Beth's clearly distressed features.

"What… what did they do to you?" Noah said. "I was just a busboy… I was like Dawn's 'assistant', but that was really it…"

Beth's eyes slowly began to blink open and her nose stuffed up. Her tone immediately changed, from strong to defenseless, and she said, "I-I don't wanna talk about it…"

Noah nodded, then smiled. He looked down at her now open eyes. "Just come to me when you're ready, then. I'll be glad to talk."

Beth gave a faint smile and nod. Noah returned the smile once more.

"Beth," Daryl said.

The soft tone he had mixed with the natural gruffness of his voice caught Beth's attention. It always did.

Daryl stopped walking.

"I should'a had a better plan than me just telling you to run. I shouldn't 'ave let you out of my sight. Shouldn't have even opened that door. 'S my fault, so don't talk about yourself that way. It's my fault."

Noah, confused as to what was happening, chose to not speak, but eavesdrop while standing.

"Don't," Beth said. "It's not your fault, don't say that."

Beth didn't know what else to really say. The two had shared a moment before it happened, so she too was out of it before the walkers came. He didn't know what she had gone through, and she hadn't told anyone. She'd just stood as strong as she could. Nobody knew what she had endured and she wondered what life would be like if they did.

Daryl felt like the guiltiest man alive. She was right; he didn't know what she had gone through. If it was anything worse than what had just happened a few moments ago at the hardware store... he felt awful. He was convinced that he was the reason she was captured by the Grady officers in the first place, and now, she had probably gone through _hell_ to be where she is now. There was no way to convince him otherwise, that he wasn't the reason she went through it all.

Beth was lonely because she didn't know who to confide in. She couldn't keep it in forever.

Daryl couldn't keep in his guilt as well, but he didn't know who to let it out to.

The pairs of blue eyes locked in a heat. Daryl stared at Beth, in utter realization that she was the only person he had ever told his story to; Beth stared at Daryl, remembering that he was the only one who listened to her rants and troubles and offered comfort.

"Beth–"

"Daryl–"

The two spoke the other's name in unison, then realizing what they had done, beamed. Beth finally broke their gaze for a moment, turning away to think of what to say. She looked back up at him.

"I want to talk to you later," Beth said.

"Me too," Daryl replied.

Noah raised his eyebrows.

"I hate to interrupt your _moment_, but we're only a little past halfway back to the truck. Let's keep moving," he said.


	5. Everything Happens For A Reason

**A/N: Did you know that if you read this story a little slower, it gets a little better?**

**After I write a chapter, I scan through it, and I'm like, "Dang, this sucks!" I guess it's more of a "savoring" type thing. If I don't skim through the story, and this applies to other fics as well, it instantly becomes much better, like you're in the moment. Just a random thought of mine. :D**

It was probably somewhere around five-'o-clock PM when the trio had returned. The orange of the sun's shadows was lingering on the landscape, waiting for the sun to sink so the color could rise and declare it evening.

Daryl and Noah sat Beth on a bench near to the truck, and the group gathered around it.

"Is everyone back yet?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, Maggie, Michonne, Glenn, Rosita and Judith are all in the truck, though," Rick said.

"Maybe we should get them, compare supplies," Beth suggested.

Rick stood for a while, eyeing her in consideration.

"Alright, that sounds like a good idea," Rick said finally. "Carl, will you get the rest of the group?"

"On it," Carl replied, making his way over to the truck.

Daryl and Noah placed their bags of supplies on the ground. Carl returned with a trail of people.

"Good, everyone's here. Let's see what everyone got. Abraham, how did it go?" Rick said.

"There were a lot of clothes there. We have a whole five bags full of 'em. Reasonable sizes for everyone here," Abraham said.

"There are at least fifteen clothing items per bag. We found some blankets and pillows also," Rosita said. "Good thing, too. It's starting to get pretty cold."

"Okay, good," Rick picked up the bags and moved them nearer to the truck. "Glenn, your group?"

Glenn held up two bags.

"Thought the place was raided…" he turned to Maggie and Tara.

"Turns out those idiots forgot to look where it counted. Floorboards, cupboards, cashiers, supply closets…" Tara said.

"We found mounds of dough, bread, desserts and all sorts of goodies. For once, I think we'll all be havin' a dinner where we won't want more," Maggie finished.

Everyone gave a faint cheer. Warm clothes and sweet foods were just what the group needed in this cold, dark time, especially Beth, whose sweet tooth hadn't had a chance to be shown in a long time.

After Rick had moved those bags next to the other ones, he summoned the next group. "Tyreese, your group?"

"The bad thing is that there wasn't enough fuel to fill the fire truck from that gas station alone. You seen that thing? It's huge! But there is definitely enough to fill at least three cars. Weird, I know, but I don't know how firetrucks work."

"In short, we weren't able to lug all that fuel back here, but we were able to raid the gas station. Water, Gatorade, juice, candy, chips, and so much more," Carol said. She, Tyreese, and Sasha each held up two bags filled with usual rest stop supplies.

"Good, great," Rick said, cracking a smile. He brought those bags over to the other ones.

"Daryl, your group?"

Daryl stood.

"Big building turned out to be a hardware store. We got all sorts of weapons in here, tools. We won't have to worry about low ammo much anymore because we got a lot." After speaking, Daryl nudged Noah. The two held up two bags each.

"Awesome, amazing," Rick said. "We needed that, a miracle today."

Rick brought the bags over to the truck, and called some of the group members over to load the bags into it.

"How'd it go for you?" Beth asked Carl who was standing nearby.

The two watched the rest of the group carry the bags onto the truck, one by one.

"We only got to three stores. All empty," Carl said.

"Bummer," Beth said.

The group had finished loading the bags, and everyone had returned to their large, clumped together state again.

"It's pretty cold out here," Tara said.

"Then get the blankets," Eugene said.

"Yeah, we should do that… and maybe we could start a fire too? We have food and warmth... all we need is each other and we'll have an amazing time like we haven't had in years. With our families," Sasha said, smiling at Tyreese and Carol, who beamed back.

"Yeah, we haven't done a fire in a long time," Carl said. "We really should, Dad."

Rick nodded, loosening up a little and cracking a smile. He raised his hands to his waist. "Alright, alright. Let's get some blankets, some wood, some food, and have us a bonfire."

.x.x.x.

The sticks and logs sat nicely on the pavement, and most of the large rocks were flat enough to be seats.

Maggie and Glenn shared a blanket, cuddling close to each other on one rock. They were both nibbling away at their loaves of bread, taking a swig of one of the two water bottles as they were passed around. Maggie eyed a worried, uncomfortable Beth. She couldn't tell what the deal with her was. She was still talking and being the social butterfly she was, but she seemed a lot less sure of herself than usual.

Beth was sitting on a rock, holding her blanket tight against her body. Noah was rubbing Beth's head.

"Your headache gone?" Noah asked.

"Gettin' there," Beth replied. "You really don't have to do this."

"Nah, anything for a friend," Noah said.

Carl stood in front of the two with two near-to-burnt loaves of bread.

"I toasted these for you guys," Carl said, handing each of the two a loaf. "I'm not really the best chef in the world… but, hey, the bread's warm."

"Thank you," Beth said, smiling up at Carl. He nodded and walked towards his father.

"Wanna try some first? I'm kind of scared, to be honest," Noah said.

"So you want me to be your guinea pig?" Beth said.

"No... well, yeah," Noah shrugged. "Please?"

Beth nodded and nibbled on the tip of her loaf. Her shoulders immediately fell in comfort. The heat of the bread warmed her up and made her feel a lot better.

"Headache's gone, go ahead and try it," Beth said, gesturing towards Noah's loaf.

He slowly brought the bread up to his mouth and glanced at Beth, in need of a reassurement that the bread was okay to be eaten. Beth giggled slightly and nodded as he bit through part of it.

"Mmm, I haven't had something like this in a while," Noah said. He smiled at the warm feeling.

All of the sudden, Beth felt a slight tap on her shoulder. She turned to the source.

Daryl stood in his usual getup. His baggy pants and same old vest, but without his crossbow.

"Can we talk?" he muttered.

Beth nodded and stood. She placed her blanket softly on the ground, and her bread on top of the blanket.

"Watch that for me," Beth said to Noah. He nodded.

Daryl led Beth away from the group and the fire, past the truck and out of sight. The two were now standing on the muddy grass, surrounded by shedding trees.

She looked up at him, about to ask what he wanted, but she changed her mind last minute. She could see the concern in his eyes. She wanted to ask how he felt, but she couldn't find the words, so she just said the first thing she thought of in hope to get something out of him.

"I-it's cold," Beth said.

"Mhm," Daryl mumbled in response.

"So, uh… how about–this," Beth stuttered. She stepped closer to Daryl. What she was about to do didn't feel like the times she'd made physical contact before. She felt weird, she felt nervous. The cold and silent atmosphere made her heart beat all the more quicker. She slowly pressed her head against his chest, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around him, locking her hands together behind his back.

Daryl tensed up at the warm feeling of her body against his. He felt jittery, but at the same time, he wanted to cry into her arms, right there and then. He wanted to tell her how scared he was and how sorry he was and how broken he'd be without her.

Daryl slowly lifted his arms to wrap around her lower back. He pulled her closer towards him and held tightly onto her. He never wanted to let her go. He always wanted her to be with him.

The pair stayed like that for a while, engulfed in the other's warmth and touch.

"Daryl?" Beth said.

"Mmh?" he responded, loosening his grip on her, thinking that she might have wanted to be let go.

"I… I wanna tell you somethin'," she said.

"What is it?" Daryl responded.

"C-can we go somewhere to sit down first? I don't think I'd be able to look at you while I tell you…"

Daryl let go of her entirely and gave the most sincere smile he could muster to her. "O' course."

Beth and Daryl walked side by side, looking for somewhere to sit. As they walked, Beth began to shiver again. She reached her hand over to Daryl's and grabbed his wrist. They continued to walk.

Daryl kept looking around for a good resting place, while Beth stared at the ground. She slid her hand from Daryl's wrist into his hand. He caught onto what she was doing and grabbed a hold of her hand tightly. They kept walking.

Beth's plan was to tell him everything. Everything that happened at the hospital, everything she felt. He wouldn't judge her. He wouldn't offer his input of "I would have done this" or "That was stupid of you" like others would. She didn't know how she felt but she knew her heart thumped faster when she even neared him. She didn't know why, but she'd want to be by his side every day. With Daryl's gruff and loner personality, she hoped the feeling was mutual, but she couldn't tell.

"Hey," Daryl said, using his free hand to brush Beth's shoulder and point to a spot up against an overturned car. They made their way over to the car and sat on the road, leaning up against it.

"The hospital…" Beth started. She removed her hand from his, tucked her knees to her body and wrapped her arms around them. She stared straight ahead, not making eye contact with Daryl.

"I woke up one day. I was there, in a room. I tried to leave, but they had locked me in." She paused, fixing her grip on her knees. "Dawn Lerner, she's the police officer who shot me, who you killed. Steven Edwards, the doctor there. They both came in and started asking me questions. I gave 'em my name and whatever other details they wanted."

She looked over at Daryl.

"I asked about you. They said I was alone when they found me."

Beth turned her head back to her frontward view and rested her chin on her knees.

"Dawn said that I would have died if they didn't grab me. She said 'cause of that, I owed her. I owed them." She paused again, adjusting her right sock on the inside of her boot.

"Doctor Edwards showed me around the place. He told me how it all worked there and what my purpose was. Once they knew I was better, they had me workin'."

Beth turned to Daryl once more with a faint smile. His eyes had been glued onto her the entire time, and they lit up once hers met his.

"Have you ever tried guinea pig? It's actually pretty good when you haven't eaten much in… however long I was out for." Beth rested her cheek on her right knee and closed her eyes.

"A man was brought in, a doctor. Edwards… he said he didn't wanna waste the supplies. Dawn got angry. She hit me, one of the scars I already had started bleedin' again. Edwards patched me up."

Beth's face darkened as she continued.

"Another woman, Joan, was brought in. Her arm was bitten, and they wanted to cut it off. She didn't want them to… I couldn't do anythin' to help her. She knew it'd be painful. I knew it would. I didn't see why they couldn't just leave her be, so I tried to leave, but Dawn made me stay. She had me pin Joan down as her arm was cut off with a wire. I had to watch the whole thing. She was screaming, blood was everywhere…" she looked down. "Reminded me of Daddy."

Daryl remembered suddenly when Hershel's leg was cut off. His mind flew to Hershel's gory death. His expression softened as he gestured for Beth to continue.

"I met Noah after that. He and Doctor Edwards seemed like the only sensible people in there… at the time…"

Beth paused and began coughing.

"You okay?" Daryl said.

"Fine, I'm fine," Beth nodded.

"Joan was a good woman," Beth said. "I was hummin', cleanin' her room. She said what I was singing was pretty… She didn't deserve the pain they had forced her to go through earlier, 'specially when she didn't even want it. I apologized because I really felt for her."

"I'm probably missin' some really important things, I'm probably way outta order with this–" Beth started.

"It's fine. Just tell me whatever ya need to."

Beth nodded and gave a small smile to Daryl before continuing.

"The doctor, who had been rolled in earlier. Edwards told me to give him a certain kind of medicine, so I did. Noah came to talk to me and then the doctor just started spazzing out. I was so scared… Edwards and Dawn came, and Noah took the blame. I ended up figurin' out that Edwards told me to give him medicine that would kill him on purpose, because he had to be the only doctor to get the protection he needed."

"That was smart of you," Daryl said.

"Thanks."

Beth tried to remember everything else that happened. Obviously, there were things that stuck out, but she wanted to be as orderly as she could so her story would make sense.

"Noah and I devised a plan to get out of the hospital. We were going to use the trash chute to escape, where all the bodies were pushed down," she said. "I had to get the key first, which was in Dawn's office."

Beth's expression turned into a grimace.

"Gorman."

"Who was he?" Daryl asked.

"He was… he was something I'd never ever dealt with, somethin' I didn't even know how to deal with. Noah… Noah had been givin' me these lollipops. He left one in my room every day and I always had the fun of findin' it. One day, though, it wasn't there. Gorman came in with the lollipop in his mouth. He told me that I wanted it back, and I said he could have it. He-he got really close… he took the lollipop out of his mouth and… and he put it into mine…" Beth immediately cringed at the memory.

Daryl wanted to shoot this guy in the head twenty times already. Beth was so innocent and hadn't dealt with sexual harassment, besides Axel's creepy flirting. All he could think about was how scared she must have been, how uncomfortable.

"After that, I was goin' to get the key from the office. I found it… then I turned around to leave and Gorman was standing there. He cornered me, against the desk. He pressed himself onto me. I was so scared. I had never gone through somethin'–somethin' like that before. He said he wouldn't tell Dawn if I did what he wanted. I had no choice, he had me trapped. He… lifted up my shirt and put his hands under, touchin' places he shouldn't've…"

Daryl immediately slammed his fist onto the car, and then buried his head in his hands. A teary-eyed Beth sniffed and turned towards him.

"What's the matter?" she said, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke.

"It's my damn fault," Daryl said.

Daryl stood up and began walking away from the car. Beth stood and walked after him.

"Stop, Daryl, it's not your fault!"

Daryl turned back to her with anger flushing his face.

"IF I HADN'T TOLD YOU TO RUN, IF I HADN'T EVEN OPENED THE DAMN DOOR IN THE FIRST PLACE, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN PUT THROUGH ALL THAT SHIT!"

Beth's eyes continued to water, her mouth opened partially. She tried to reach out to him, but he turned and stomped away. She ran after him.

"You-you couldn't help it, you didn't know what would happen, it was the heat of the moment–"

"I'M STILL A FUCKING DUMBASS! I STILL PUT YOU IN DANGER, I ALMOST LOST YOU 'CAUSE OF HOW STUPID I WAS!" he walked to the nearest sturdy tree and punched it over and over until he felt the blood begin to escape his knuckles. Beth caught up and grabbed his arm. He turned towards her to wriggle free of her grasp. Instead, she moved his arms around his waist. He weakened at her touch slid down the tree, Beth still clung to him.

His arms hung limp at his sides as he stared up at the sky. Beth continued to squeeze him tightly.

"You could have _died_, and it would have been because of me."

Beth loosened her grip on Daryl's body and looked up at him, tears racing down to her chin.

"I could have died if I had stayed with you, too. The walkers still could have gotten in, regardless of you opening the door. It was nobody's fault; it was just how it happened," Beth said.

She buried her head into his chest again.

"Besides, everything happens for a reason, y'know," she muttered. Daryl was a lot calmer with Beth clinging to him. Just knowing she was there made him stronger by the minute. He put one hand on the back of her head, another on her back, and held her close.


	6. Love

**A/N: I FOUND SOME GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN THE LAST CHAPTER. Please please please ignore them! It's pretty hard but I was tired and it was 3AM and just pleeeeease ignore it.**

"Does your hand still hurt?" Beth asked.

"No," Daryl pouted. She frowned down at him.

Daryl was still leaned up against the tree, while Beth was standing on her knees, trying to tend to his blistered knuckles.

"It has to hurt," she said.

"Well it don't," Daryl sneered back, trying to yank his hand away. Beth, however, had the upper hand, being able to use both of her hands to grab onto his.

"Oh really?" she dabbed her index finger on the tip of her tongue and pressed that finger directly onto one of his knuckles. His expression changed from grim to slightly more pained, as he tried to yank his arm away yet again.

"Told you it hurt," Beth said, smiling.

"I just didn't wanna give ya the satisfaction of bein' right," Daryl replied.

Beth chuckled a little and smiled down at the ground. Daryl felt a little more light-hearted being the cause of her laughter.

"Hey… Daryl?" Beth said, looking up from where her eyes were focused on before and meeting his. Her eyes shined in wonder.

"Hmm?" he said, raising his eyebrows. He pushed himself up higher against the tree so he was more level to her eye's current range.

Beth opened her mouth to speak, but then she looked at the ground again, face as red as a tomato. She had no clue what she was thinking. She was just going to go outright and ask him how he felt, but how would he react? He'd probably just get up and leave her again. He probably didn't feel the same way she felt. How even did she feel? Dozens of thoughts raced around Beth's head, but she pushed them all aside and spat it out.

"Do you love me?"

Her eyes interlocked with his shocked ones. She was shaking in both fear that he'd leave her and in fear of being rejected. She gulped, then shifted to sit on her bottom as she awaited an answer.

Daryl didn't know what to say. Every day, his feelings for her would get clearer to everyone but him. He hadn't ever been in love, he didn't know how it felt. But the rapid beating of his heart when she'd say his name, the true happiness he's feel when she'd laugh; was that love?

He didn't know how to phrase how he felt. Saying "What is being in love like?" so he'd know, but then he'd just sound like an idiot. He couldn't say "I don't know," because he would be lying to both himself and her. He knew how he felt about her, he just didn't know what it _was_. He couldn't express that to her, though.

"Is it love when you'd sacrifice yourself for them?" Daryl asked, picking his words apart carefully.

"Of course that's love," Beth responded, kind of confused.

"Is it love when you want to watch over them every minute of every day?"

"Definitely, that's how Daddy felt and I know he loved us," Beth responded.

"Is it love when… when she's all you can ever think about?"

Beth stopped in her tracks. She realized now that he was admitting his feelings–well, sort of. She understood that he was talking about her. She didn't know how to respond now… why was he asking her this? In a weird way to confess?

"When her voice send you higher than the clouds, when her beauty makes ya drool, when her laugh makes you laugh too. When you know that you want this in your life every day until the end of everythin'. Is that love?" Daryl finished in a heat of stumbling words.

Beth was smiling now. She knew if she spoke, her voice would crack. She was overjoyed because she knew it without him even having to say it. Without him even having to know it too.

"That's love," she said, her voice cracking as she expected and her eyes watering.

"Tha's my answer then."

"What's your answer?"

Daryl stayed silent for a few seconds, then he looked back into her glossy, sparkling blue eyes.

"Yes."

Beth's smile wasn't this big since… hell, she couldn't even remember when it was ever that big since this all started.

"I-I'm going to patch up your hand," she said, still smiling, looking into her pockets for some sort of bandage.

"Yeah," Daryl said, staring at her with an awestruck gaze and a true smile as she searched frantically.

After she couldn't find any bandages, she grabbed his hand again. She placed her palm on the blisters of his right hand.

"Does that burn?"

Daryl had reacted before she even spoke, smashing the ground with his free hand. Beth was about to move her hand off, but Daryl put his left hand onto hers.

"It'll be more painful if you take your hand off," he said.

They kept that position for a while, until Beth grew weary.

"I can't keep my hand on it forever, Daryl…"

"Fine," Daryl said. He picked up his left hand and Beth removed hers. Daryl expected to feel pain, but instead, all he saw was a dark green color fading and growing from his knuckles. His eyebrows raised in confusion and terror.

"What?" Beth said, noticing his alerted expression.

"My hand's green…" he said, showing it to her.

"That's a weird shade–WOAH!" Beth said, touching his knuckles once again. Daryl pulled his hand back to himself, looking at it once more and saw that the dark green was gone, and so were the blisters that were there before.

"What the _hell_," Daryl mumbled to himself.

"I saw green," Beth started. "When I got hurt. Both times, it was green. It wasn't that dark, but it was there… what's goin' on?"

Daryl looked down at his hand again.

"I dunno, Beth. I dunno."


	7. Suggestions

**A/N: I'm sorry it took so long for me to update! I just tend to lose my inspiration when I feel like only one or two people are actually reading the story.**

* * *

><p>"Maybe you rubbed your hand up against some grass stains?"<p>

"–Beth."

"Or maybe it was a bruise? It could have been a bruise."

"Stop."

Beth and Daryl were slowly walking back to the others, as Beth went on and on about ideas of how this could have happened.

She gasped.

"Maybe…"

"Maybe?" Daryl said.

"Maybe you have super powers."

Daryl chuckled a little, playfully punching her shoulder.

Beth sighed.

"I just… I really don't know," she said. "I don't get it."

"Well, dead people comin' back to life and eatin' people didn't seem too realistic either, but…" Daryl said, shrugging.

"You're right," Beth said. "You're right, if dead people can come back to life, anything is possible."

They walked in silence again, until Beth jumped.

"Maybe we can just use our imaginations and think of the craziest thing possible? Anything can happen, after all," she said.

"It's kinda hard to use your imagination to think of how this works when the world's gone ta shit around ya," Daryl said.

Beth gave a sad sigh and looked down as they continued to walk.

"How else are we gonna figure out an explanation for all of this?"

"Maybe there just isn't one."

Beth looked over at him.

"But there has to be! What if there's something we never knew about, something amazing that could change the world as we know it?"

Daryl slowed his pace slightly, taking his time to eye her.

"What if there's not?"

Of course, Beth was always the hopeful one, but with a situation like this, Daryl didn't have a clue about what to expect.

"We should just wait it out, see if anythin' else happens," Daryl said.

"But stuff like this has happened to me a lot already! I can't just wait; I need to figure this out! Daryl, this could change all of this, and I'm not gonna waste another second."

Daryl turned away from her and quickened his pace. Beth's eyebrows curved up in half regret as she followed him back to camp.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, this was a short one! Please leave feedback!<strong>


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